| Service for investors debuts on the Net | 24 June |
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With the Internet growing in leaps and bounds, and with companies making money from the new medium, it almost seems fit that someone would want to cash in on the companies doing business on the Net. Now, besides buying stock directly in Internet-related companies, investors will be able to sink their money into a new Internet-focused mutual fund from WWW Investors Inc. WWW Investors filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to form what it said was the first Internet mutual fund in the US, called the WWW Internet Fund. The new no-load fund was created to cater to the growing demand by investors to ride the wave of the Internet industry's growth, but not rely on what the company called "volatile IPO (initial public offering) stocks such as Netscape, Yahoo, or Lycos." Noting that the technology sector in general has been especially unstable as of late, Newsbytes asked WWW Internet Fund co-manager Lawrence York how his fund will address the fluctuations. "We designed what we call a three-tier structure that will include mature companies, mid-life companies, and adolescent companies," he said. "We just won't have the high-flyers, and we have some specific screens to protect against abnormal risk." "Mature companies" are described by WWW Investors as large, successful computer and network companies that are also aggressively pursuing Internet products and services, like Microsoft, Intel, and AT&T. Fastgrowing mid-sized companies that have dominated the first wave of Internet growth and have demonstrated their ability to meet the needs of the growing industry are the "mid-life companies," and include Novell, Cabletron, and Cisco. "Adolescent companies" are hot upstarts experiencing record evaluations and are expected to dominate the emerging market, like Netscape, UUNet, Yahoo, and CyberCash. York also said he'll evaluate companies by "their means," including price-earnings ratios, financial ratios, management teams, and alliances the businesses have with others in the field, to help mitigate risk. The WWW Internet Fund will require a $1,000 beginning balance, or $250 if investors want to use the fund as an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), York said. A $100 minimum buy will be required for subsequent fund purchases, he added. The company's Internet Fund World Wide Web site will be launched after the SEC and the state of Kentucky give their respective blessings on the fund, will offer secure online trading of fund shares, account information, and Internet industry investment news. Shares will also be available via mail, phone, and fax, officials said. (Bob Woods/19960621/Press Contact: Jim Greene, WWW Advisory, 606-263-2204) (NEWS)(ONLINE)(MSP)(00002) |
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From the NEWSBYTES news service, 24 June |
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